Page 37 of Saving Lauren

We get dressed and walk towards the Command Center. My crewmates are busy at work, but they turn around when we enter. L’Ren blushes and shyly grasps my arm at first. When she sees my crew smiling at the sight of us, she lets go of my arms and walks towards them.

She hugs them both, even gruff T’Rak, proclaiming her thanks. O’Rec tries to blow it off, but she is having none of it and I smile. Crossing my arms across my chest. She is a fierce one, in the end O’Rec and T’Rak have no other choice, but to accept her thanks and she returns to my side happy and smiling.

“We are going to get something to eat,” I say. “Do you two want to join us?” They both nod and T’Rak puts the plane on autopilot. We walk towards the mess hall. I think of the damaged plants, wincing inwardly. I will wait until after we have eaten to tell L’Ren. She must have sensed something because she cocks her head looking at me.

“Are you alright?” she asks and I nod.

I usher L’Ren to take a seat and make noodles for everybody. We eat in silence, when we are all finished, L’Ren speaks up.

“So, what are we going to do next?” T’Rak and O’Rec nod at me.

“We are going home.”

“What do you mean by home?” She looks puzzled. I look at my captain, T’Rak clears his throat.

“You are D’Var’s mate, his Zarra. That means that you are one of us now, and that you can be trusted with our greatest secret.”

“We believe our race has a connection with the stars,” T’Rak begins.

“The stars guide our people, they always have. First to the planet of Arracate, then to our destiny and to our mates. Our Zarra, our mission, and it is all in our connection with the stars. Everything is connected.”

“Our ancestors believed that the planet of Arracate contained a special spark. A spark that drew the First Warriors towards it, which gave the First Chief and the Warriors their way of life.”

“When our planet was destroyed, we thought we had lost that spark forever, but luckily all was not lost. One of our scouting groups was on a mission near the outskirts of space, close to the Ixarion Void when they felt something. It was like a magnetic pull, drawing them in. They could not resist and decided to chase it. That is how they found a secret nebula. It is on the outskirts, close to the void. A place where almost nobody goes, in that nebula they found our spark.”

L'Ren gasps. “You are connected to… to the universe? A connection that was hidden away inside your planet and now it’s somewhere in space?”

Her eyes are huge and when she looks at me, I can feel our mating bond pulse. I put my hand on her leg, while my tail caresses her back in slow circles.

“What happened next?” she asks.

“We made our home there, at the edges of the nebula. You will see it when we get there.” T’Rak answers.

“Is that… safe?” she trembles a bit and I feel her anxiety.

“It is cloaked,” T’Rak says. He then starts to rise from his chair. O’Rec joins him to get back to their tasks.

Lauren

I need to process all of this. If I contemplate my connection to D’Var, T’Rak’s story makes quite a bit of sense. D’Var is my mate, I can feel it in every fiber of my being. I was meant to be with him, so if they believe it’s the stars that are guiding us, who am I to doubt that belief? If it’s the same stars that have led me to D’Var, I am happy to go with it.

“What’s next?” I ask D’Var. He shrugs.

“We should clean this room and then take care of your plants. I am sorry to say, the Sternotheri caused quite the destruction when they took you. I have not been looking after them.”

I touch his arm and caress his skin.“That’s ok, we can fix it. Plants can handle some rough treatment. But I meant in general.”

“Ah, of course. O’Rec has plotted a course home. We will probably get there in four days. We have to refuel once, so we have one quick stop at a space station, but besides that, I hope there will be four uneventful days, I can spend in between your thighs, worshiping your cunt.”

I spit out the sip of water I just took, I give him a stern look before I shake my head. This man. He goes from stern warrior to goofball in a heartbeat. We clean up the mess hall moving to the cargo bay, so I can look at the remnants of my plants.

I already know it’s not going to be a pretty sight, but even I am shocked by what I find. The plants are all scattered across the floor, and everywhere is dirt. People have walked through the dirt, because there are trails everywhere and a couple of branches broke off from the larger plants.

I cringe when I see my big pot, broken on the ground. I feel tears rising behind my eyes. I blink heavily to make them go away, because after everything that happened, I am not going to cry over some broken pots and spilled plants.

I feel D’Var’s touch on my arm and I lean back against him. He kisses my head and I hear him in my mind.

“Do not be sad, L’Ren. We will fix this.”

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